SP names five more Lok Sabha candidates

The Samajwadi Party on Monday announced five more candidates for the lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh.

"Now only those seats remain where we are working on a poll alliance with the Congress," party general secretary Amar Singh told reporters after making the announcement.

With this, the number of candidates announced by the party rose to 51. The state has 80 Lok Sabha seats.

The five constituencies are Pilibhit, Meerut, Gonda, Chandauli and Basti. Prominent among the five names announced Monday is Kirti Vardhan Singh, a sitting MP from Gonda constituency.

While there has been delay in deciding on seat-sharing with the Congress, a decision is expected soon, Singh added.

There were differences between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party after the Congress sought at least 35 to 38 seats. Finally, it has scaled down its demand to 20-25 seats.

A Samajwadi Party source said they do not agree to this since it is the bigger party in the state - a point made by Amar Singh on Saturday, when he said: "We don't need the Congress to form a government in Uttar Pradesh, but the Congress needs us to do so in New Delhi."

However, Singh on Monday reiterated that the Samajwadi Party has full faith in the Congress. "I was earlier in the Congress and will always support them," Singh said.